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See that wooden round thing above? That's a smartphone -- a real, working smartphone with a high-res screen and a camera, and not just a concept that will never come to life. Just imagining how to take calls on it without a headset or how to access websites on it is giving us a headache, but it's sure a good way to stand out in a world dominated by rectangular devices. This circular oddity is called the Runcible, and San Francisco design firm Monohm modeled it after pocket watches and compasses: items it says we humans have been carrying with us for ages.

Next time you have to access WhatsApp on your desktop, you won't need to fire up Chrome if it's not your preferred browser. The messenger's web client now works on both Firefox and Opera, giving you more choices on the computer, though you'll still obviously have to settle if you're a Safari fan. That's pretty much all that's changed: the sign up process remains the same, so you will be prompted to scan a QR code with the mobile app in order to start using the web client like we mentioned when the product launched. Unfortunately, that also means iPhones still don't have the capability to scan that QR code (Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Android devices can), forcing faithful iOS users to stick to their mobile devices.

You might not be happy that Google isn't fixing a web security flaw in your older Android phone, but the search giant now says that it has some good reasons for holding off. As the company's Adrian Ludwig explains, it's no longer viable to "safely" patch vulnerable, pre-Android 4.4 versions of WebView (a framework that lets apps show websites without a separate browser) to prevent remote attacks. The sheer amount of necessary code changes would create legions of problems, he claims, especially since developers are introducing "thousands" of tweaks to the open source software every month.

Oculus Rift developers can now just use Firefox Nightly instead of downloading a completely separate build, as its newest version comes with web VR capabilities. Mozilla's been developing virtual reality features for the web for quite some time now, but it initially decided to load APIs onto a standalone experimental build that works with Rift headsets. Problem is, that version's other features always lag behind the other builds, since it focuses on virtual reality. By adding VR to one of the regular experimental versions, Mozilla will be able to speed up its development process. The developers are hoping that this change will soon enable them to release a Direct-to-Rift feature, as well as support for Linux and Firefox for Android.

It looks like Firefox is done beta-testing the simpler, no-frills version of its "Hello" video chat feature. The latest stable Firefox comes bundled with the updated WebRTC function, which was first released as part of its experimental beta browser in December. First time you've heard of Hello? Most people would've chosen Skype, Hangouts, or another chat app as their default by now, so we wouldn't be surprised. Hello is an in-browser video chat function that Firefox launched last year, but since it supports WebRTC, it'll work even if your chatmate uses Opera or Chrome instead. The public first saw it in October 2014, but the newer version eliminates steps needed to start chatting with friends and family.

Panasonic's promises of Firefox OS-based TVs in 2014 didn't amount to much, but the company is back with much more concrete plans for Mozilla's web-based platform. The electronics giant has revealed that all of its 2015 Life+Screen 4K TVs (the CX600, CX650, CX800 and CX850) launching this spring will run Firefox OS. You can not only run web apps, but also send content to your TV from any device with a Firefox browser or a compatible app. You'll even get notifications from smart appliances connected to your home network, Panasonic says. It's hard to know if the new software will help Panasonic compete with the likes of LG's webOS sets or Samsung's Tizen models, but it's clear that simply making a smart TV isn't enough in the tech world these days -- you need to have a full-fledged software ecosystem to back it up.

Firefox added its 'Hello' videochat feature to its experimental beta browser back in October, and now it's taking on board user feedback to make it all a little more appealing. You can still use the feature without registering for the account, but there's now less steps to get that running - you'll also get an audio ping when your partner joins the call. Conversation windows each have a unique URL, which can be shared, well, anywhere you can paste it. You can then maintain these links to continue conversations at a later time and the message history will remain, even if you aren't registered for an account. So, what is the point of logging in with a Firefox account? It'll let you directly call you contacts - if they're also logged in.. and aren't using Hangouts instead.

At an internal Mozilla event in Portland, Oregon yesteday, Firefox release manager Lukas Blakk tweeted that "We need to be where our users are so we're going to get Firefox on iOS". The company acknowledged that it is "experimenting" with the iOS platform in an official statement:

At Mozilla, we put our users first and want to provide an independent choice for them on any platform. We are in the early stages of experimenting with something that allows iOS users to be able to choose a Firefox-like experience.

We work in the open at Mozilla and are just starting to experiment, so we'll update you when we have more to share.

The term "experimenting" is an interesting choice. Apple has major restrictions with regard to third-party browser engines on iOS, requiring that they use Apple's own JavaScript and rendering engines. Chrome does use Apple's engine, while Opera actually renders sites on a server before sending them to an iOS device.

Mozilla doesn't say how it plans to bring Firefox to iOS, but most likely it will have to work with Apple's technology. As with Chrome, that restriction still means that the browser should be able to support Firefox accounts and bookmark syncing.

Mozilla has been staunchly opposed to an iOS version of its Firefox browser for a while. It wants to use its own web engine, but Apple will only let companies use its in-house code in the name of security. However, the organization is clearly having a change of heart -- VP Jonathan Nightingale has revealed that Mozilla wants to bring Firefox to iOS. He didn't say how it would happen, but it's most likely that the company will use Apple's engine and layer a custom interface on top, like Google does with Chrome. We've reached out to Mozilla and will let you know if it can say more.

That was fast. It was just two weeks ago that Mozilla announced a deal making Yahoo the default search engine in Firefox, and now you can download an updated version of the desktop web browser (Firefox 34) that uses Yahoo as its out-of-the-box search option in North America. The app thankfully won't override your existing choice if you're a veteran user, but it will ask once if you'd like to switch. Android users aren't seeing a similar change in search providers, although it's likely just a matter of time.

Mozilla isn't just rethinking its choice of default search engines in Firefox; it's overhauling the search bar itself. An upcoming version of the web browser will let you search a specific site with one click. If you want to find an ancient Twitter update or scour Wikipedia, you won't have to wait until you get to the search results to take action. The update will let you add other sites, too, such as your favorite restaurant recommendation page. You can argue that Firefox is catching up to Chrome, which lets you type the site you mean to search, but it's hard to object to anything that helps you get to what you wanted a little bit sooner.

Remember when Yahoo was your go-to search engine for browsing the web? It might be again soon, at least if you're a Firefox user. Mozilla and Yahoo just announced a five year deal to make Yahoo the web browser's default search engine, supplanting Google as the top item in Firefox's search bar in the United States. Mozilla says this is part of providing a more "local" experience -- until now, the company defaulted to Google search regardless of the user's country. Now the default search engine will be assigned by region: Yahoo for the United States, Yandex search for Russia and Baidu for China. Each region will have the ability to switch to other local options as well, giving Googlers a chance to switch back if they so desire.

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FirefoxmozillapartnershipsearchsearchengineyahooWed, 19 Nov 2014 17:42:00 -050021|20996343http://www.tuaw.com/2014/11/14/skype-for-web-beta-app-free-calls-coming-soon-to-safari/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=TUAW.com&ncid=rss_semi
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With as many issues as I've had with Skype over the years, it really rubs me the wrong way that I have to install the Skype for Mac app on my trusty iMac and MacBook Pro for those occasional face-to-face calls. Thanks to a beta announced today by the folks at Microsoft, er... Skype, those of us who have often wanted to dump Skype into the OS X trash can may soon have our wish. Skype for Web will soon available so that you can just sign into Skype.com and make your group video calls from there.

When everything is given the big thumbs-up by the Skype team, you'll be able to log into Skype for Web after logging into the Skype website. At this time, chances are probably good that logging into Skype from your web browser will just launch the Skype app on your Mac. Speaking of Mac, the only browsers initially supporting Skype for Web on OS X will be Apple's very own Safari and the widely-used Firefox. Eventually, you'll be able to use Chrome for Mac as well.

As you'd expect from a Microsoft product, Skype for Web will initially require the installation of a small plug-in. Let's just hope it's not the dreaded Silverlight plug-in... But hey, "In the future, using Skype on the web will become even easier and convenient."

The known issue list for Skype for Web (beta) also shows one little gotcha -- an "issue with battery consumption when running Skype for Web on a Mac." I'm sure that the team has top men working on that issue... top men.

Microsoft has just announced that you'll soon be able to make video and voice Skype calls from just about any computer with a web browser. Skype for Web (beta) calls will work on Chrome, Safari, Firefox and of course, Internet Explorer, with the addition of a "small plugin," at least for now. Microsoft said that it'll eventually work natively on browsers without plugins or downloads once WebRTC is more widely implemented. That'll be especially handy for users with no access to the dedicated app who may want to chat with or message friends from, say, an internet cafe in a foreign country.

You may be very privacy-conscious in this era of mass surveillance, but your web browser hasn't done much to keep up -- big updates like Do Not Track and private browsing windows arrived years ago. Mozilla isn't satisfied with this state of affairs, so it's releasing a new version of Firefox that puts privacy front-and-center. The centerpiece is a "forget" button that makes it easy to scrub cookies, history and other details; you won't have to jump through hoops to eliminate traces of where you've been, whether you're concerned about data theft or just want to hide an embarrassing web session. You can also switch to DuckDuckGo's anti-tracking search engine, and you'll find both a privacy tour (on the desktop) and a coaching add-on (on Android) that help you use relevant features.

One of the biggest threats to your online privacy is the mixture of code that you'll find on some websites. It's all too easy for a legit-looking page to hide data-stealing code, or for innocent sites to accidentally expose your info. If Google, Mozilla and researchers have their way, though, you won't have to worry quite so much about where that info is going. Their new COWL (Confinement with Origin Web Labels) system prevents JavaScript from sharing data with outside websites that aren't explicitly approved; even when the data gets the all-clear, it won't necessarily spread anywhere else. In theory, it should be harder for ne'er-do-wells to hijack a page and grab sensitive content without your knowledge, or simply for you to lose control of where that content goes.

It was only a few weeks ago that Chromecast support was spotted in Firefox for Android's nightly builds -- now it's one step closer to primetime: the feature is now a standard part of the browser's beta package. This means that Mozilla fans eager to stream from their favorite browser can access the experimental feature from Google Play, rather than manually installing the update. It gets better, too: the official beta also has support for Roku streaming, assuming your set top box has the Firefox channel installed. Finally, Mozilla quietly announced that its bringing WebRTC support into the main beta channel of its desktop browser. All of these features are still in their early stages, of course, but if you want a sneak peek at what's next for Mozilla's stable releases, the source links are below.

Firefox typically fills a new tab with tiles of your most-visited websites, but if you're one of the brave souls using the Nightly experimental build, you'll see something else in there, too: ads. Mozilla has started rolling out sponsored tiles interspersed among websites you've visited on Nightly, months after the organization first announced its plans to do. When you first launch the browser, you'll get a pop-up notification that says some of the tiles will feature sponsored content, and that it'll clearly mark which ones are ads. But TheNextWeb, which has spotted this latest change on the browser's least stable build, noticed that some ads weren't marked at all.

When I reviewed the original ZTE Open last year, the Firefox OS experience was -- to put it modestly -- rough around the edges. The device was stripped down even by the standards of low-end phones, while the software was missing features other platforms have had for years. You didn't even get new email notifications, for crying out loud. Jump ahead a year and it's another story. The Open C is a much more powerful device, and Firefox OS has received a few vital upgrades. But does that mean Mozilla's web-based mobile software is finally ready for prime time? I spent two weeks with the Open C to find out if it can hold its own against budget rivals -- and to see if I'd be comfortable using it as my only phone.

Looks like you won't have to wait for Mozilla's streaming dongle to stream from Firefox: the browser's nightly Android test build now supports Chromecast natively. Mozilla's Lucas Rocha casually mentioned the new feature on his Google+ page and, sure enough, if you download the latest build it's there - hidden under the tools section as "mirror tab." The feature works, but it's early: in our tests the mirrored tab was more than five seconds behind the handset, and was prone to crashing. Want to try it for yourself? You can download the Android APK at the source link below.

Mozilla must've really liked Chris Beard during his time as interim CEO because he is now the real, actual CEO of the company, "interim" prefix not required. Beard took over the reins of the firm in April after former CEO Brendan Eich stepped down amidst political backlash -- Eich had made contributions to an anti-same sex marriage bill in California. Though it's only been a few months, Beard appears to have proved himself worthy of the CEO role. As with Eich, Mozilla's current focus is to further its efforts on mobile. According to a recent blog post by Executive Chairwoman Mitchell Baker, "Chris has a keen sense of where Mozilla has been -- and where we're headed [...] There's simply no better person to lead Mozilla as we extend our impact from Firefox on the desktop to the worlds of mobile devices and services."

Firefox has already shown off an Android launcher and is now trying some spiffy personalization features for its Android browser. The latest beta flaunts a new class of "panel" add-ons with home page feeds like Pocket, Wikipedia, Instagram and more. Firefox has also released a new set of APIs for those plug-ins, letting any app developer create a home screen page. I tried it out with Instagram and Pocket and found it gave me a quick way to view photo streams and articles without touching the apps. But I've got similar features with my launcher (Terrain), which seems a more logical place to put third party feeds. If you'd like to try it, it seemed stable enough during limited usage, but like any beta, the risk is all yours. %Gallery-slideshow209824%

So far, sophisticated 3D web games have typically required either a plugin (think Quake Live) or a special environment where they can run native code. While those are just dandy, they aren't really web games, are they? That's going to change shortly, as Trendy Entertainment has revealed plans to launch truly web-based versions of both Dungeon Defenders Eternity and the upcoming Dungeon Defenders II. Both Unreal Engine-based titles use a mix of open standards like WebGL, Web Audio and Mozilla's heavily tuned JavaScript web code (asm.js) to handle desktop-level 3D and sound in your browser at "near native" speeds. You may not notice the difference at all, provided you're on a reasonably quick PC.

We know how Facebook imagines it'll work in VR, but what about the rest of the internet? Google's Brandon Jones has announced that he's working on a way to add virtual reality support for Oculus Rift and Cardboard into Chrome. It's the second browser to champion WebVR, since the platform has been seeded into experimental builds of Firefox over the last week. Of course, the internet won't be a city you can walk through, but Jones believes that 360-degree product shots and interactive exhibits should be reasonably easy to create and use. It's still a long way away from being ready for consumers to use, but we have to admit -- surfing the 'net would be wayyy radder if it was done in Virtuality. Wait, is this 1994?

If you like the idea of streaming media to your TV with a Chromecast but aren't terribly fond of Google's content or platform restrictions, you'll soon have an open alternative. GigaOM has managed to get hands-on time with an unannounced Firefox OS-based media stick that lets you "fling" any content to your TV using any software. It has a hack-friendly open bootloader, and it'll even mimic a Chromecast in a pinch; while support is inconsistent right now, the adapter can already handle video requests from the YouTube app. Mozilla isn't naming the manufacturer or commenting on its involvement in the project, but hopefully the gadget ships sooner than later. It may be the key to simple casting from Firefox OS, Windows Phone and other platforms that don't have many (if any) TV sharing options.